Thursday, August 4, 2016

Wholesalers have a decision to make as whether they want to base their actions on profit anecdotes or profit facts. This session will focus on the real keys to profit improvement.

This institute session will present the results of the largest sample of distributor profitability ever undertaken. It will reveals what actually drives profit across a wide range of distribution industries. The conclusions shatter much of the conventional wisdom in distribution.

Firms that employ the right combination of the Critical Profit Variables produce a Return on Assets and a Pre-tax Profit Margin that is twice as high as the typical distributor – it is a massive difference.

The topics covered in this program include:

Does size matter?

How fast does the firm have to grow?

Can gross margin be too high as well as too low?

Is cost control an out-of-date concept as some consultants suggest?

Should firms to continue to try to lower investment levels?

Dr. Albert D. Bates, Chairman and President, is the founder of the Profit Planning Group, a research and executive education firm headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. The firm works exclusively in the area of corporate financial planning.

He makes approximately 100 presentations each year on topics such as Improving the Bottom Line, Getting Serious About Profit, Doing More with Less, and Pricing for Profit. He also provides strategic direction for the firm’s investigation into profitability research for over one hundred different trade associations.

He has written extensively in both the professional and trade press, including the Harvard Business Review, the California Management Review and Business Horizons. In addition he writes the quarterly Profit Improvement Reports for the firm’s trade association clients.

Human resources guru Nancye Combs will offer Smart Solutions to the HR Issues in 2016. Covering topics such as how to find good employees, how to conduct a legal and effective interview, and how to engage the Millennial Generation in the workplace, Ms. Combs' presentation will address those issues of most importance to attendees.

Nancye Combs is an executive management consultant, college instructor, national speaker, writer and expert witness in employment practices, including discrimination and termination issues. She founded HR Enterprises after a 20-year corporate career, and has more than 700 clients on five continents in business, industry, education and government, providing a full range of human resources services. She designs/delivers training programs, analyzes organizational systems and solves management issues.

A recognized expert in employment issues and expert witness in state and federal court on cases with potential judgments exceeding $200 million, she has offered testimony on such issues as sexual harassment, wrongful termination and retaliation.

She has delivered more than 1,000 speeches. She advises CEOs, Boards of Directors, Human Resources executives and government officials, on issues of organizational development and problem solving. She serves as President/CEO of HR Enterprises, based in Louisville, Kentucky.

Friday, August 5, 2016

There are more opportunities to grow your business inside the organization than outside. Think of the number of touches your inside salespeople make on a daily basis. Are you taking advantage of these opportunities? Here are the topics covered in this opening module:

The critical nature of the counter experience

The reactive nature of transactional sales and service

The importance of team selling and communication

Enlarging the role of inside sales

Inside salespeople will have a better understanding of the critical role they play within the organization and the importance of proactive sales and service.

Proactive Sales and Service

The reactive nature of your customer’s business implies that it is okay to serve the customer reactively, when in fact, the customer is counting on you to proactively anticipate their needs. Here are the topics covered in this module:

Defining proactive sales and service

Transforming reactive scenarios to proactive opportunities

Proactive sales and service tactics

When your salespeople apply the proactive sales and service tactics, they will serve the customer more conscientiously and sell more effectively. They will demonstrate this behavior by proactively suggesting complementary products and services, anticipating the customer’s needs, and communicating effectively with the customer.

The Inside Sales Call

There are fewer things more powerful than being at the right place at the right time, and with the right solution. Your salespeople are at the right place and timing couldn’t be more perfect, but are they presenting the right solution? Here are the topics covered in this module:

Positive greeting

Needs analysis using the GAP® Model

Suggesting the solution and asking for the business

After this module, your salespeople will have a structured method to execute the inside sales call. They will demonstrate these skills by positively greeting the customer, asking better questions, and presenting a compelling solution.

Paul Reilly is the founder and president of Reilly Sales Training. He began his training career by joining Tom Reilly Training. Although Tom Reilly Training has a rich 33-year history in Value-Added Selling, he decided to start a new sales training company with a different focus. Reilly Sales Training offers a complete range of training programs, consulting services, and training assessments. Before entering the training industry, Paul spent over fifteen years as a salesperson.